Max and Ruby - Clothes and Toys

Max and Ruby is an animated series that debuted in 2002 (following a pilot episode in 2001) that is aimed at a preschool audience. Created by children's book author/illustrator Rosemary Wells and based on the world of her Max and Ruby books, the episodes present stories about Max, a rambunctious and determined 3-year-old bunny, and his big sister, Ruby, a patient, goal-oriented, sometimes restrictive 7-year-old bunny. Nick, Jr., About Max & Ruby The show presents an uplifting message for its audience by showing Max and Ruby playing together and exercising respect and love in resolving their conflicts. A pilot episode for this series aired in 2001 and the program appeared as a regular series on October 21, 2002, Season Two was released 2003, Season Three was released 2006 and a fourth season is being released on September 7, 2009. Treehouse TV:Tune in for a new season of fun filled episodes Sundays at 7:30pm EST starting the week of Sept. 7th! According to Rosemary Wells on the Nick Jr. site, "Max & Ruby celebrates the relationship between Ruby and her younger brother, Max, and the universal nature of sibling relationships." Nick, Jr., Meet Rosemary Wells

Each episode consists of three self-contained vignettes. Within each, Ruby is typically engaged in some sort of project or activity (which usually involves Max whether he's willing or not), while Max has a particular mania of his own which either runs counter to his sister's or distracts her. Amusingly, Max's dialog within each story is usually limited to just one word or a two-word phrase, which he repeats periodically for the rest of the episode until the end, sometimes saying a different word (or in rare occasions a full (three-word) sentence). For example, "Tow truck!" or "Jellyballs!" By the end of the story, Max's passion often dovetails with Ruby's in some way, to her benefit and delight.

It features Samantha Morton as the voice of Ruby, Billy Rosemberg as the voice of Max and Julie Lemieux as Louise. In season three, Rebecca Peters replaced Morton as the voice of Ruby. The voice of Grandma is played by Kay Hawtrey. TV.com

Max and Ruby's parents are never seen except in the vignettes entitled "Louise's Secret" and "Ruby's Rainbow". Their parents are shown in a family portrait hanging above the red flowered couch. The portrait features left to right, Father, Max, Ruby and Mother. They are never mentioned but they are featured in that portrait throughout the vignettes. According to Wells, "As in most other classic stories, we don't see Max and Ruby's parents, because I believe that kids resolve their issues and conflicts differently when they are on their own. The television series gives kids a sense about how these two siblings resolve their conflicts in a humorous and entertaining way." Ruby acts as a maternal figure to Max, and takes care of some of Max's basic needs. In addition, their grandmother is sometimes present and takes part in many of the episodes. In March 2009, the series created a spinoff of it entitled Max & Rubys Bunnytales about Ruby telling fairy tales shown Max & Ruby style. Max and Ruby's Bunnytales'' are interspersed through Season Four.